The Chronicles Of Gavain
by Grant Morgan
Summary: The story of a Hume male from Bastok who falls in love with a beautiful Elvaan female. The story then catapults him around Vana'diel and takes him from being a man... to being a legend.
1. Chapter 1

THE CHRONICLES OF GAVAIN

Dramatis personae:

Gavain – The hero of the story, a Hume male with short blond hair and blue eyes; his origins are unknown, but he hails from Bastok and has several tutors and father figures there. He works at a warehouse in Port Bastok, and he lives with Mog in his residential quarters.

Sern – Gavain's best friend and coworker, and a skilled thief.

Lillian – A Hume female from Bastok who is interested in Gavain, and a formidable White Mage.

Aerwyn – A young Elvaan female from the heart of San d'Oria who steals Gavain's eyesight and heart early in our story. She is skilled in the arts of Black Magic.

Reud – Aerwyn's later companion; he retains his interest in Aerwyn by holding to the fact that he is Elvaan royalty and only Elvaan royalty should be together. A skilled Samurai.

General Obernoss – A Quadav commander who trains a party of Orcs and Yagudo's to fight like they do; he is a renegade from the natural order of Quadav's in Beadeaux and plans to overtake Vana'diel.

Many other characters are introduced in the story, but these are the main heroes and villains.

All races, locations, dates, items vessels, and other characters are property of Square Enix, PlayOnline and the Final Fantasy XI teamand all rights are reserved to them.

Any relation to actual events is purely coincidental; this story is entirely fiction.


	2. Chapter 2

The Chronicles of Gavain

PROLOGUE

"_Closure. A luxury most of us think we have and a hardship most of us never are allowed to endure. It is as a tidal wave of pain, yet a soothing wind of comfort all in one fell blow. Pity to think I myself cannot fathom this." _– An excerpt of His Words: The Journeys of Gavain

He stopped, and as the orange skies fell around his senses, he could taste none but dirt and dismay. His mind befell a thought, and as he turned and faced what was there, colors faded away from what used to be bright hues into a more defined black and white. All of the shouts coming to him, the Quadav cries as loud as the Hume's surrounding him, were muddled. There came no difference to him between what was ground and what was air, what was solid and liquid, what was inhaling and exhalation. He could feel nothing.

He looked forward and focused on this moment. He could not move, but his focus was sharper than it ever was. He smiled in the Quadav's face, brought up his hand and buried it into his skull. The pounding of his fists shook those around his proximity with their force and sound, and the Quad fell in a mighty fury, his temples marred with dismay and his face broken. The maddening crowd stopped, and their blades fell as they looked upon Gavain with a sudden horror.

Not a soul could remember much that day. A soldier stepped in to grab the weakened Gavain, and Gavain shrugged him off.

"Keep away from me," he uttered. "I am in no need of assistance."

He limped away slowly, the blade in between his sternum exposed on both sides, the hilt nearly lost inside his stomach. The Quad's all stared in fear at this man who came at them slowly, arms raised.

"What are you waiting for!" he screamed.

They dropped their weapons and fled. An entire legion of Quad's marched away, with the sound of a herd of beasts running from a predator. Gavain stood alone.

This is his story. The story of Gavain is not one told by many, because it is a story of love, a story of hate, a story of fear, and a story of noble one-sidedness that has not been followed by any Bastoker to date. By that I merely mean no one can live up to his legacy, for it is a quiet one, a one most live not to retell, and a one that no one truly wants to remember. Most called him Gav for short, some merely called him Vain, because that is what his life seemed to be.

But this is not merely his story, fair reader. This is also the story of his love, the Elvaan princess Aerwyn. This love, pure and unbound by common nature and laws, and total between both of them, was unconditional. But this love was also forbidden. Hence lies the battle therein that he fought so hard. Hence lies the meaning of his life. Hence lies the bravery and the magnitude of power displayed by this common Hume, made into almost a God among his enemies and a king among his friends.

These two are some of the most famous of tales in Bastok lore, and have been told many times. But you have never heard it from the eyes of one who knew him, one who had the gall to fight alongside him, but not enough courage to stand up for what was right when the time came. I credit myself the luckiest man alive to have known him, but I am also the most cowardly man alive because I did not stand for the man who stood for us all. I did not care to fight for his beliefs, although he cared to fight for mine.

I only hope that this story, my iteration, can do him justice. I pray that this will honor him, and that he, wherever he may reside now, can find peace and forgiveness in his heart for a simple idiot like me. I also hope that you, dear reader, begin to find an understanding patience in your heart for this soul. Gavain is a legend, and I intend to make sure that legend is carried down to the rest of the generations of Vana'diel.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 1

It was an early day in Bastok. He sat on the harbor, and the fiery haired Elvaan he was just speaking to proceeded to walk away. He guiltily glanced a look at her posterior and grinned lightly to one side as she walked. He felt there was a chance she was more than aware of this, yet he still felt a complete fool for even speaking. This beautiful girl came to talk to the delivery boy, for crying out loud. But she didn't know he was a monk in training, and she still didn't know he thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid his eyes upon.

_Gotta remember her name_, he thought to himself. _I mean after all, she remembered mine. I wonder how long she'll be in town. Wait…_

Gavain looked up and saw that the sun had withdrawn slightly over Port. He just remembered that he had ten minutes to deliver his next package. Two minutes late again today and Foss the Bucket handler would be very perturbed at this 'bothersome child.' He left for the warehouse in Port Bastok, where Foss's shipment was housed, running speedily all the way. A heavily armored Galka stepped in his way over the bridge, causing quite a stumble for Gav.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!" Gavain shouted.

"… miserable Hume," uttered the Galka.

"Whatever." Gav continued running as he arose from his fall. He burst through the doors of the warehouse and saw that Sern was working the packages. He felt relief, as this tall, well-built Hume knew what he was doing, and was a good friend of his.

"Sern!"

"Gav… lemme guess. Foss's."

"Yeah. You got it on row ten?"

"No, it's on lower level waiting for you." Gav sighed heavily as this meant another minute of going downstairs, getting the package, hiking back up, and then going back to Firewater Circle. As he proceeded to do so, Sern let a light laugh escape from him at knowing of Gav's struggle. Marching back upstairs Gav looked at him with narrowed eyes. Sern looked back and held himself up on the table, then pointed out the window wryly.

"Four minutes, Gav."

"WHAT!" He bolted out the door in a frenzy. Sern simply laughed hard, and continued organizing boxes.

Gavain stopped cold in front of Foss's spot. He was nowhere to be seen. Gav began to get angered at this. His spot always remained the same, and every time he ever suggested him to meet him halfway at Metalworks, Foss retained the answer no harder than he retained his fancy tall tales of golden buckets found in the sea. Flustered, Gav sat the boxes down and leaned on the wall next to them. Out of the blue came Foss, bewildered and also angered with his package handler.

"Seven minutes late? What am I to do with you, Gavain? I pay your service a high price and this is what I receive?"

"That's enough! I was here on time, for a long time. And anybody standing there at the auction house can testify to that!"

"I was at the Metalworks! I thought that was where you said to meet you at from now on."

Gav put both hands in his face and uttered a muffled curse. "Alright… where are we meeting from now on?"

"Here, young fool. You meet me here right at 18:00. That is how it has been, that is how it will be. You shall bring me boxes; I shall give you your 225 Gil. Every minute you are late, 5 Gil is taken away, just as it has been. Understood?"

"Crystal clear."

"Funny you should mention that, young Gavain. You know the Bastokan Military is looking for bothersome children like yourself to enlist in their ranks. They want their crystals, and Cid is studying them all the more frequently these days. Perhaps you should sign up with them instead of delivering me late buckets every Darksday."

"Ah, stuff it, geezer. I'm not cut out for that kinda thing. I never really was fond of it at all anyway."

"But there are ways around it that could be beneficial to you… just remember that when the time comes." Foss held his hand out and gave Gav 400 Gil, to which Gav stared in amazement.

"Hey, Foss… you just gave me…"

"I gave you what I thought you should have," Foss interrupted.

"Take 225 to Mack, keep the rest for you. You do me well, but you'd do me a lot better on time! Let that be a lesson to you."

Foss then walked away with his boxes in tow. Gav put the coinage in his pouch and walked back to port. He took his strides slow and steady, as this was more money than he'd normally get for anything, even more than three days pay. He looked up at the Metalworks and thought of going to the cafeteria later, but first he had to report back to work and give his supervisor Mack his earnings for the delivery. Gav remembered the day Mack hired him a few weeks back, and how Mack always tended to give him grief in front of him, yet speak the world of him behind his back. Gav didn't understand this, and thought that he never would.

As he walked on, he passed over the residential area, and saw an old Elvaan talking into a door. The beautiful female Elvaan he was speaking to earlier was in that house as well. He stopped and let his gaze wander fully on her. He could feel nothing else for a moment.

_What is her name? This is ridiculous; I can't even remember two simple syllables… oh yeah! Aerwyn. She is just…so beautiful._

Gav kept his gaze focused, right until the point where she stared back. As soon as she met his eyes with hers, he turned and walked back towards the Port. He could not understand why this girl stole his eyesight. He was puzzled as to why he kept thinking about her. These and many questions bewildered him as he walked on to the warehouse, and he stopped asking himself things right as he approached the door.

Gavain opened the warehouse door, and went inside. There on the desk sat Mack and Sern, with a chair open for Gav in between them.

"Gav, my boy," said Mack in a dull rumble. "Please seat yourself."

"How was your trip Mack?" said Gav.

"Ah, it went alright. You know, San 'Boring'a isn't as bad this time of year when they actually have some festivals goin' down." They all chuckled at his anecdote.

"You know we're all doing pretty well. Just us three I mean. You two guys are making this warehouse a lot of revenue. Sern you're doing a great job of keeping our inventory. And Gav, despite some… downfalls… you're the best delivery guy I've ever had. I wanted to show you guys a little appreciation, so as a token of my esteem, and seeing that there are no deliveries next week, I want you guys to take the week off. With pay."

Both Sern's and Gav's eyes lit up as they smiled and exclaimed out loud. This was totally unexpected, and very much unlike Mack to do.

"Gav, did Foss pay you full this time?"

"Yeah, I got the 225 right here," Gav said. He put the Gil on the table for Mack to recoup, which he did. Mack counted it twice and added it to the safe box. He then brought out 1,250 Gil and split it.

"That's your pay for next week."

"But sir," said Sern. "This is way over what we're normally paid."

"I'll say again, that is your pay for next week. Now take it or leave it," Mack said emotionally.They both took it, and Gav looked at the empty safe. He could tell something was the matter, but he did not know how to ask. He decided on the simple approach.

"What's wrong Mack?" Gav asked.

"Okay. I'll keep this simple and short. You boys are getting transferred to the airship docks. You'll be getting paid about double what you have been, and you'll start work in ten days." They both grinned at the prospect. Sern especially had been looking for the opportunity to move up. He happily looked towards his boss and asked him a simple question as well.

"What about you Mack? You're gonna be bossin' the place, right?" Mack kept completely silent.

"… Right Mack?" Sern asked again.

"No." Everyone stayed silent. They waited for Mack to explain.

"The Republic of Bastok bought out the warehouse for the airship docks, so new people are gonna be manning this place. Galka, more than likely. I was not asked to be a part of anyone's crew, so I've been forced outta the picture. I don't have a job boys. I'm goin back to Fort Zulkheim tomorrow to see if I can talk anybody into needin' a chocobo courier. I doubt it'll work, but I've gotta restart somewhere. I put in good words for both you boys, and you had better make me proud at the airship docks. You had better work it for all it's worth, and you had better move up. And you had better not worry about an old coot like me! Understood?" Mack said, as a smile came across his face.

"Yes sir," both Gav and Sern said.

"Alright now get goin. I gotta clean this place and lock it up. You're both dismissed. And no, I don't want your help. Go have fun, be yourselves. Those are your orders." Both Sern and Gav left. Gav took up his pouch and his 625 Gil, and staggered a little to hear Mack crying in the background. Afraid of dishonoring his wishes, Gav left and shut the door behind him. He did not understand why this happened, because he thought the business was thriving. But even the questions that befell his mind were insignificant compared to the fact that he had just been promoted to a new job. Sern looked over at Gav and stared questioningly.

"Hey Gav?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about Mack. He knows what's best for him, you know he's the loner type. He'll be alright."

"I know, man; it's just that I really feel bad. I don't know if it was something I did, you know what I mean?"

"Nah, don't give yourself that much credit," Sern smiled.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah I do, but seriously. Things always happen for a reason, and there's a good reason we're getting transferred. I mean if we actually do good, we'll get to travel and apprentice under people and stuff like that. We could pursue lots of things with this new job. I hope that we can anyway."

"I'm sure we will. I'm just of two minds about everything."

"Well when you narrow it down to one, I'll be at the cafeteria."

"Alright Sern. See ya later, man."

Gav staggered behind and watched Sern walk away. He went back to the residential area, not feeling hungry anymore, and eager to put some of his earnings away. As he knocked, his moogle Mog opened the door.

"Good to see you, kupo!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's been a rough one today Mog," Gav sighed.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that Master Gav. I got some good news though!"

"What's that?"

"Your plants are growing pretty well, kupo!" Gav sighed again and his eyes narrowed at Mog.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"I know you're not the gardening type, Master Gav, but it does put me at peace. Perhaps you need to find something, or someone I dare say, that can put you at peace. Oh your delivery box," Mog remembered. He flew into Gav's delivery box and removed a letter.

"This was addressed to you, with no other sign of name on the envelope," Mog said.

"Weird," Gav said. He opened the letter, and noticed it was in a script he couldn't quite make out.

"Hey Mog."

"Yes, Master?"

"Come here a second will ya?"

"Of course, kupo!" Mog hobbled over to Gavain and sat down beside him on his table.

"Can you read this?"

"Oh, it's in Elvaan. Wow… it's been awhile but I can certainly try Master!"

"I appreciate it Mog."

"Okay here goes:

Dear Sir Gavain,

You delivered a package to me today, and you delivered it on time and with the utmost courtesy. I am grateful to you and your services that you have rendered. Meet me tomorrow at the Goldsmith's at 9:00 so I may properly reintroduce myself. I look forward to seeing you there, and getting to know you a little better. Thank you kindly, and take care this evening.

Aerwyn

P.S.: I know you cannot read Elvaan, but if you want to meet me, I'm sure you'll find a way to translate this document.

Wow, sir. It would appear you've made an admirer out of an Elvaan, kupo," Mog said happily.

"I would say quite the opposite, Mog." Gavain blushed silently, and folded the letter back and kept it on top of his table. He was again flustered at this Aerwyn, this beautiful woman who'd captivated him for just these twenty-four hours. He climbed into his unmade bed and dimmed the candles down to two.

"Are you hungry?" Mog asked.

"Nah I think I'm just gonna hit the hay for tonight, Mog. But please help yourself. Oh if you need any money, I have some in the bag if you wanna go to the cafeteria."

"No thank you, Master. I am quite pleased, and will be retiring also. Sleep well, kupo!" Mog exclaimed.

Gavain rested his head and fell asleep within minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 2

The sounds of a banging door were more than enough to shock a sleeping Gavain. He awoke and grabbed his cuffs, more than ready to pound an intruder to oblivion. It was still a lulled dark at 04:00, and he uncertain about who would need or want to knock on his door at this ungodly hour. He approached his door and readied an inquiry, yet kept his stance and awareness firm.

"Who is it?" asked Gavain loudly.

"Calm down, man, it's just me," said the hushed voice. Gav immediately recognized it as Sern. He opened the door and smirked at him, allowing his entrance into his home. Still unsure of Sern's appearance, he posed the question.

"What are you doing up so late? Scratch that… what are you doing here so late?"

"Sorry, Gav. I needed to tell you about this," Sern said quietly, yet assertively. He handed Gav a piece of paper. On it contained information of a new quest for ill-experienced travelers called the Gustaberg Tour. It was a simple quest, attempting to bring new adventurers a bit of an introductory welcome to Bastok and its wildlife.

"It's quick cash, Gav. I mean, we know Gustaberg like the back of our hands, it's 500 Gil and four other idiots we can just pretty much mess around with for two whole days. I think that sounds pretty simple to me, man. What do you think?" Gav studied the page some more to find out if what he said was accurate. He was correct. The paper printed to meet at the South Gustaberg gate in Bastok Markets today at 09:30, so he considered himself fortunate to have been told now.

"Alright, sure, I'll do it. What all do you think we'll need?"

"Just some distilled water, some bread, maybe a few sausages and what not. I mean we got everything else we'd need. I just wonder who the other four people will be, ya know?"

"Yeah, but it really doesn't make much difference to me who it is. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, man, I'm ready to roll. I just figured I'd stay here and crash with you till time to go."

"That's fine. I'm just gonna go to the cafeteria and grab a few sausages so we can grill out on a campsite sometime for whoever's planning on staying with us."

"You and sausage… you better bring somethin' green, 'cause you know someone's gonna be there that doesn't eat meat."

"You're right. I'll get some La Theine cabbages; those are pretty cheap these days. But listen, don't wake up Mog. Let him sleep or else he'll kupo you to death with questions." Both Sern and Gav laughed, and Gav took up his satchel and exited his home. He headed towards the Metalworks and noted it was still dark, but Firewater Circle still bustled with certain activity. He saw riders come through and out again in droves, unaware of the reason behind the hustle. He went inside and saw the Galka he had bumped into earlier that day. The Galka looked at him and sneered. Gav looked up at the Galka and began to speak.

"Look, man…," Gav began.

"I am no MAN, foolish Hume. I am Galka. I am branded with the mere name you give me, and treated with no respect although I fight for your country. My people are your slaves, and all you have to call me is a man."

"You got me wrong. I was trying to apologize."

"Oh… I am sorry to have indiscreetly judged you." Gav looked at the Galka and noted his unmoving gaze. He couldn't understand why he had so much animosity, or why he didn't do anything more about it than fume with mere words.

"What is it that they call you?"

"Alert Gaze… but my real name is Kerrammah."

"It is nice to meet you Kerrammah, and I apologize for bumping into you sir," said Gav as he extended his hand. Kerrammah stood awestruck.

"I am unaware of this custom."

"I stick my hand out, you stick your hand out, and we shake each others hands in compliance and agreement. Here, I'll show ya." Gav stuck both his hands together and shook them in a greeting way. He smiled at Kerrammah and stuck his hand back out to him. Kerrammah extended his enormous hand and shook Gav's, and Gav winced in certain pain as Kerrammah applied what was gentle pressure to a Galka on Gav's right hand. His entire arm flailed in pain.

"What is wrong?" asked Kerrammah.

"Oh nothin'," limped Gav. "You might just be a little unaware of your strength." He held his hand and shook it around as to alleviate the immense pain in it.

"You can have that power too, Hume."

"Yeah right… Galka's are always stronger than Hume's."

"What is your name?"

"Gavain, but most just call me Gav."

"I can help you become this strong." Kerrammah pointed to his arms and motioned to Gavain.

"You can be more powerful than all this mass, if it is what you wish."

"Actually, as of this moment, I just need to go to the cafeteria and get some stuff, then apply for the Gustaberg Tour."

"I can sign you for the Gustaberg Tour. Consider it done. Run, for the cafeteria will be on break in about five minutes. Any other names?"

"Sern! Sign for another Hume named Sern, S-E-R-N. Thanks, Kerrammah!" Gav ran through the halls of Metalworks and to the far right elevator, which seemed as though it were never going to come down. He strapped his satchel on the side of his waist and begun to ascend the sides of the wood paneling on the elevator. Right as he reached the top, the elevator platform began it's descent.

"Agh…," moaned Gav in desperation. He climbed his way to the side and stepped onto the floor with his right foot. As the left leg came down, it stepped onto nothing behind him and he begun to slip and fall. He shouted in anxiety, and begun to fall backwards. He felt all of gravity pulling his body down to the floor fifty feet below him, until his satchel caught in the wood paneling beside him, leaving him dangling by one arm. As he stayed, the elevator platform began to come back up, and he waited for it. As his feet once again regained what was a surface beneath him, he pulled himself to and strapped his satchel to his waist again. He walked onto the stone, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and looking down. The stare of an old man came to him condescendingly.

"Stupid kids…," grunted the old man as he walked away. Gavain looked at him and huffed, then opened the cafeteria door. The entire cafeteria was empty, not a soul inside sitting anywhere. Not a single smell of food prepared, not a single food out at all. And it was 08:00 now. He turned and paced back, knowing the cafeteria didn't open again till 10:00, at which point he would've already been in Gustaberg. He went down the elevator, and walked slowly back to his residence. He opened the door and saw that nothing was there except Mog.

"Hey Mog," Gav sighed.

"Master! You are supposed to be at the Goldsmith's in fifteen minutes!"

"For what?" Gav exclaimed. He then looked at the table and saw the Elvaan note, and held his face in his hand. He turned, closed the door and ran towards the Goldsmith's. Right when he reached the front door of the building, it was 08:57. _Three minutes to spare, and I've got nothing at all, _he thought to himself. He looked constantly for the fiery-haired Aerwyn who had kept his attentions so well. She was nowhere in sight. He sat down and waited. He figured once 09:23 came, he would have been officially stood up and would have to go on to the gate. He kept looking out amongst the crowd, and saw nothing of the Elvaan female.

Once it turned 09:20 he grew tired of waiting and began to head for the lower Markets gate. He figured that for all he knew, she probably forgot or more than likely didn't care. _Probably all just a joke anyway_, he kept telling himself. _Oh well, at least I've got a little bit of cash to look forward to. _He made his way, and saw his entourage at the Markets gate. Sern flagged him down with a few waves as he made his way to the gate. He looked at the crowd and prepared to listen to the female Hume soldier who was there.

"Greetings, all. My name is Izabele, and I am your guide for today's tour. Your mission as a party is to journey through Gustaberg, and ultimately meet with Hunting Bear. He is a Galka, and he is waiting for you somewhere in Gustaberg. That is your whole mission, to find him, and catalogue what it is that you do in between that time as a part of a poll on our livelihood. So we have six people on our tour today. Let's call roll, if we may. Sern Ariah?"

"Yes," Sern said as he raised his hand.

"Parragoh?" asked Izabele.

"Here," a menacing Galka said.

"Gavain?"

"Yes ma'am," Gav said.

"Lillian Reen?"

"Here," a Hume female said.

"Lumomo?"

"HERE!" a short female Tarutaru exclaimed.

"Aerwyn?"

Gavain looked around as he recognized the name being called, and behind him came the redheaded beauty herself. She smiled and said, "Here," then glanced at Gav with a smile unmatched in radiance. He looked at her with a perplexed look, somewhere between a smile and desperation. He wasn't sure what to do, or what to say, or where to begin, so he just did what he knew to do best.

"Hi," he said.

"And a hello to you too, good sir," she smiled.

"So… touring Gustaberg, huh? I know it's really exciting…," he smiled frantically, blushing and sweating his frustration.

"Yes. Umm…," she pointed to Gav's head.

"What?" he smiled.

"You're sweating."

"Hehe, it is kind of hot today," Gav said heavily.

"But it was hotter yesterday, and you weren't sweating then." He blushed a little more and listened further to Izabele. Aerwyn's eyes were fixed on Gav the whole time, which made him very uneasy. She brushed past him intentionally and stood in front of him and allocated her sight on the female Hume soldier. She bent forward a little bit, and Gav fought the urge to look at her behind. He heard Izabele ask if anyone had any questions, and Gav instantly popped up his hand in an attempt to distract himself.

"Yes, Gavain?"

"Uh… I was just wondering, what is the umm… well, nevermind."

"Yes. Then the tour is underway. I wish all of you the best of luck in your travel."

Gavain finally looked straight down at Aerwyn's backside, and as he did she turned around and looked at him with a half-smile.

"Something wrong, Gavain?" she asked.

"NO!" he exclaimed.

"Hey Gav," Sern called from the other side of the gate. Gav quickly looked to that side, looked at Aerwyn, then walked over there as if his eyes were asking permission from her for him to go. Sern looked at Gav's red face and begun to speak.

"Whoa, man. What in the world is wrong with you?"

"Ah, doesn't matter. You get anything?"

"No, I thought you were going to get stuff."

"Sern! The cafeteria was closed before I even walked in!"

"Wait a minute… so now we don't have anything?"

"Excuse me sirs," said a small voice. Gav felt something pulling on his pant leg. It was the Tarutaru Lumomo.

"Oh I'm sorry, what is it?" Gav asked.

"I have plenty of food if we all get hungry-wungry. So we've got nothing to worry aboutaru! We just gotta stick together, and not get mad or angry-wangry. We taru's don't get angry-wangry."

She smiled up at Gav assuringly, and danced around as though she were happy just to exist. Gav knew from that moment he'd have problems with someone dancing around that happily, but he also felt good that somebody was happy they'd all be going out together. It was an assurance he was quite unsure of, because he didn't know how to act between his best friend and this beautiful Elvaan girl he was obviously affectionate for. He just knew he had to try and keep his cool while on the trip, and not let anything get the best of him.

They all walked around and introduced one another. The people seemed to all pair off into different interests. Lumomo journeyed from Windurst as an attempt to travel abroad and find some new friends. Parragoh wanted to travel somewhere other than Bastok Mines for once, and learn to become a warrior. Lillian was a Hume born in San d'Oria, who came back to her mothers home to continue her thriving business of alchemy. Aerwyn was here with her father, and was a potent black mage. Sern and Gavain just did it for the money. They all decided they should pair off and find partners.

"I shall partner with you Lumomo, if you wish," said Parragoh.

"It would be my pleasure-weasure to partaru with you!" she smiled.

"Hey man," Sern whispered to Gav.

"What?" he whispered back.

"That Hume girl… she's pretty beautiful. I'm gonna see if she needs a nice man in her life, or at least to partner up with." Sern walked confidently over to Lillian, and she shyly accepted his partner offer. Gav looked over at the only other person that was unpaired as of yet, Aerwyn. She walked forward to him with her hands behind her back, and stared up at him with her eyes full and wondrous.

"Guess that leaves me and you," she said quietly.

"Yeah, it does," Gav said with a smile.

"We'll see how it goes."

As she said those words smiling, she breathed them heavily on his face and turned around and strutted herself slowly. Once again as she did this, Gav was captivated at her attributes. He then felt a sharp motion hit his right shoulder.

"Snap out of it!" Sern said with a laugh as he slapped Gav's shoulder. They all began to walk off into Gustaberg, with Gavain trailing slowly behind them all. He was unsure of himself yet again, and unsure of all this journeying about with people he barely knew. He was unknowing of what would or could happen, and this made him uneasy. But the thing that made him the most uneasy was his uncertainty of what could happen to Aerwyn. He did not know why he thought this way, and he questioned himself over and over as to why this thought was foremost on his mind.

He stayed behind as they all walked out, and faced the brutal Gustaberg sun. It was enough that it was still early in the day, but even worse was they had no clue of the look of the man they were looking for and had no idea if he was in North, South, or worse; the Wadi. They did not want to have to look for a hulking Galka in the middle of the Wadi totally defenseless and for the most part untrained. They decided they needed a leader to guide them through most of Gustaberg. They begun nominating.

"So, who knows Gustaberg here?" the Hume female Lillian asked.

"Sern knows it pretty well," Gavain said.

"Ah I know it alright, but I think Gav knows it better," Sern shrugged.

"Well what do you all think we should do? It is obvious we need a leader of some type, but we should be sure that he or she knows his whereabouts and will not lead us into some imminent danger," said Parragoh.

"I think danger-wanger is bad, but we should be able to handle ourselves either way. I'm certain we'll be alrightaru!" exclaimed Lumomo.

"I nominate Gavain to be the leader," said Aerwyn. "Anyone who agrees, say agreed."

Gavain was puzzled at how she took charge of things, because he wasn't normally the type to just tell everyone what to do without some type of concensus. He was glad that she was a controlling type, and thought that this would come in handy in certain situations where everyone would be led to dilly-dally, as he felt was going on right now.

"Agreed," said Sern with a smile.

"I agree," nodded Lillian.

"I am in agreement," said Parragoh.

"Yes yes!" said Lumomo.

"Gavain?" said Aerwyn.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are you in agreement to the position of leader?"

"Yeah I'll do it," he said, with uncertainty.

Aerwyn looked on his uncertainty, but let him take the role over instead of worrying about it. "So where to?" she asked questioningly.

"We will head through Vomp Hill, ascend it, then descend it. If we don't find him there, we'll try the Morhen Lighthouse then. By nightfall we'll head for the Fumaroles. If he still hasn't been found by then, we'll stop and camp there. Tomorrow we'll make for North Gustaberg, and go from there," he said, to which they all nodded.

"Is everyone certain we're all well supplied and ready to go?" he asked finally.

"Yes," they all said one by one.

"Then let's roll," he shouted. They all followed him enthusiastically, seeing that he indeed did know his whereabouts and had good general sense about him to ask the right questions. They all went one by one, Aerwyn behind him, then Lumomo and Parragoh trailing behind Aerwyn, and Sern and Lillian at the rear. All seemed content and excited to begin a new adventure. Gav noticed it was 11:00 and smiled at his surroundings, happy to be out of his dreary home and normal circumstance. He could not keep his mind nor his eyes from wandering on the Elvaan girl behind him the whole time, to which she generally smiled. Vomp Hill lay just ahead of the party a few thousand feet. They continued a normal pace, and happily chatted the time away.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 3

Vomp Hill overturned for the party a few hundred feet of uphill travel, a few sunburns, and a few worms. Nothing was to be found, least of all a Galka soldier. As they descended the hill, they noticed a few Goblins patrolling at the foot of the hills. They stopped for a moment, wondering what course of action they should take. Gav stood before them, and held out his hand for everyone to halt, even though they already had.

"You know if we watch ourselves, we might not have to worry about anything to do with these Gobs…" Gav whispered.

"Man, I hate Goblins!" Sern fumed.

"Why hataru that which has done nothing to you?" said Lumomo.

"You're wrong, little one. The Goblins are notorious thieves and have been ferocious murderous tribes for the tenure that I've known of them," slighted Parragoh.

"Quiet!" Gav hushed.

He moved forward to see three Goblins moving about and motioning around the lower encampment of Vomp Hill. They all scampered about, sniffing around their environs and looking everywhere that they could see. One looked up and saw where Gav's head would have been if he had not already ducked behind the huge boulder behind him. The rest of them lowered their bodies behind as to not attract attention. One made a shouting grunt and they paced forward onto the bare rock before them. They headed away at a running pace towards a pack of their cohorts overlooking the area of Morhen Lighthouse.

Gav was perturbed at this, and did not know why the Goblins would have run off so quickly. As he looked down he saw no sight of anything at all, and he decided it was safe to descend the tiny hill. It was midday, and all of the party were exhausted, had not had an ounce of rest, food, or water. Sern stared at Gav questioningly as though he was exhausted, and as Gav's forehead glistened under the sweat of the Bastokan sun, he looked up and sighed heavily.

"We'll take a breather once we get downhill towards that campsite.

We'll be pretty safe there, I'm sure."

His tone breathed heavily, and all their eyes seemed too glazed over to allow their attentions to latch on his words. Aerwyn looked down at all the exhausted members of the party and wondered why they were so wearied. While she was indeed tired of all the walking, she was not yet ready to turn in. Most of her admiration went towards Gav, and as she looked upon his body and his face, she saw in him an unmatched determination that simply made her smile wide into his deep blue eyes. To this he looked up, breathing at a slow pace, and his face did not move once. He just stayed transfixed on her eyesight. Then after motioning his hands on the ground, he proceeded to rise from what was once a hiding spot for him and his team members and his gaze met the ground he arose from. He stood firmly and overlooked the edge of the end of the hill in order to purvey it once more with his eyes as a guide to what was ahead.

He set one foot in front of the other, right to left pace, and motioned for everyone to follow by waving his right arm forward a few times. Aerwyn followed behind Lumomo and Parragoh, allowing Sern and Lillian to bring up the rear of the party. She did not want Gav to get distracted by her presence behind him at this time, as she was certain that something lurked not too far ahead of them once they begun their descent. Uncertain of what it was, they all kept pressing downhill led by the blond-haired Bastoker.

He stopped once they reached the foot of the hill. His eyes once again gazed left to right. The silence around him unsettled his senses, and he did not enjoy the sensation that he began to feel as his spine lightly shivered in an uncontained fear of what was or was not present with him. All at once the fear led to an immeasurable moment of stillness and Gav nor his party would move. They all stopped to look and let their eyes absorb that which was around them. The first noise was made, and a rock fell onto the ground not even twenty feet to the right of Gav's position. The second noise was made, and a scraping sound led by a trail of upward dust began to make itself known. Gav recognized this as footsteps, but not just any ordinary footsteps.

A thick, tall, brownish figure emerged from the side of the mountain, armed with a sword and charging at the young man. Gav jumped back as the figure swung its possession towards him in a carving fashion. The figure then arose and let out a mighty cry. They recognized it as a Quadav. Gav noticed that this one was a young one, no captain, no severe rank or otherwise noticeable potency, but nonetheless still powerful to him. Sern jumped from behind so to flank the Quad from the back right and brought out his dagger, and Parragoh reached from his back to unleash his butterfly axe and moved to the left. Gav stood before the Quad now, drawing up his gloves and noticing all three of the men were in a triangle around this beast. All were equally frightened, but equally ready. Aerwyn backed away in horror at the sight of this beast she'd never seen, and stood aback unaware of her current course of action. Lumomo quickly paced her little feet towards her Galka friend's side, while Lillian remained fixed in her position.

"I never even heard it coming," Gav said out loud.

"It's alright, young one. We shall slay it together," rumbled Parragoh.

"You guys can slay what you want, I'm taking his sword!" cried Sern.

The three looked at each other and smiled. At this instant the Quad took advantage of the situation and begun to swing at Gav, to which he merely dodged yet again. Gav brought around his left arm to lend a body blow to the beast, and the beast stood unmoved by his blow. He then jumped and led into its jaw with his right fist, to which the beast staggered back. Parragoh let out a mighty growl and let his axe fly brightly in the air as if he were dancing with it in his hands, and then it descended onto the ground with fury. The cunning beast moved out of the way before it dropped on his spot. The axe blade buried itself into the hard Gustaberg ground, and the Galka looked on it with dismay.

"Curse you foul beast! It takes time to sharpen that blade!" he shouted.

The Galka angrily charged at it, bringing out his right arm in a clothesline fashion. The Quad held out his sword as to let his foe run himself through on it, and the Galka did not see clearly enough to stop himself. He looked down and saw what his demise right before him was as his body ran uncontrollably towards the dulled bronze blade of his enemy. Suddenly his body was jerked to the right by an untold motion. He fell to the ground in a daze and was unsure of exactly how. When he looked up, he saw that Aerwyn's eyes were closed and her hands focused on his location, and he saw a mighty gust of wind blow by him. He was thankful that someone was mindful enough to save him from his own foolish rage.

Gav was outraged that this Quad was such a bother to him and his party. He also charged from the side at this hideous brown beast, fists raised high at his side. As he ran forward, the Quad moved to the side and allowed its own arm to be the thing that stopped Gav's run. Gav flew back in frenzy and dropped to the ground without hesitation. His side was bleeding from a scrape, but he failed to notice this. He was too focused on the moment of the battle to care. At this time, the Quad began to approach Gav quickly. It then cried out in pain and stopped. Gav wondered as to why until Sern ran out from the right behind it, ducking under the mighty swipe of the Quad's blade. As the Quad turned around, Gav noticed a blade sticking in his back. He got up and ran towards that spot, leaning his right shoulder into his run for all he was worth.

The Quad once again let out a piercing screech as he received Gav's shoulder tackle on its very own backside. Gav began to pummel the beasts face on the ground until it could screech no more. Breathing heavily, Gav got up and looked over the rest of his party wearily. Parragoh drew up his axe from the ground and looked on the Quad in disgust. He again brought it high over his head, and let it make a fast descent onto the neck of the Quadav. This quickly separated his head from his body, and the purple blood flowed onto the ground with intensity and thickness as this action was performed. The Galka brought his axe back up to his side and wiped its blade off with a cloth.

"No beastman blood will stain this axe if I can help it. Their blood is not worth my metal," he slowly said.

Still shocked at what had taken place, Aerwyn came back to Gav's side and noticed his injuries. She was unsure of what to say or what to do first, because she had never seen a beastman killed, and had only seen one or two Orcs in her life. She was increasingly horrified at the fight that had occurred, but most of all she seemed intrigued that Gav was able to mount and defeat this incredibly enormous and seemingly more powerful foe with just his own hands. Her black magic training was meant to enfeeble only those who posed immediate danger and as well as a way to manipulate elements, but she did not know if she ever wanted to use this knowledge or this power offensively. Now more so than ever, she felt an attachment to Gav and the rest of the people she was around if not only for the sake of defending those she would call friend, but to defend herself as well. These questions she began to pose in her mind would have to wait until later. She was still concerned about this man whose stare she could not manage to forget.

"You're hurt," she said.

"It's nothing Aerwyn," Gav whispered as he clutched his bleeding side.

"It is something, Mr. Gavain. It is an injury. And it should be treated properly, and without your stubbornness to interrupt such procedure!" she said in an impatient way.

"I'll treat it," Lillian said.

Lillian was a well-practiced white mage, and she began to conjure a cure spell to Gav to close the wound and restore him to a sense of health. He had never seen any sort of magic in action and was not certain if any of it was real or ever worked at all. As Lillian performed her spell, it cured his body and he watched his wound close. He felt complete and energized, as though he had just begun the journey. Amazed at this, he leapt up and felt completely better.

"Thanks Lillian!" Gav exclaimed.

"'Tis my duty, sir," she said.

He stood happily and bowed slightly at Lillian, to which she saluted and walked back towards her companion Sern. He looked over at Aerwyn who turned her head at him and looked away. She was angered, but he was uncertain why and began to ask.

"What's wrong?" he began.

"Nothing," she started.

"Whatever," he stammered and began to walk away.

"What?"

"Huh? I thought you said nothing was wrong?" Gav said as he looked back at her.

"What's wrong is you refused to believe you were in pain, much less let anyone try to treat it. It took someone having to investigate and make a conscious decision as to whether or not you were going to be healed instead of you just admitting to it, and that is what is wrong."

"Whoa, you're reading way too much into this. I just didn't see it as that big of a deal. Just a side scrape."

"Not that big of a deal to YOU maybe, Gavain. But an injury is something we can't sustain in a party that is always supposed to remain at full capacity. How can we expect you to lead us if you won't lower some of that stupid pride of yours?"

"You sure you're worried about me leading you, or you sure you're not just worried about me?" he said.

She did not reply to this. She just stammered and looked away. While it was true that she was worried about him being able to lead the party and be healthy, more than anything she was simply concerned about his injury and concerned for his well-being. Upon seeing him bleed she felt as if she would give even her own skin to stop him from feeling any pain, and he did not seem to understand that fact. At hearing his observation of her worry, she just made a simple reply and hid her emotion from him.

"Let's just go," she said.

"No problem," Gavain replied. He huffed slightly and turned his eyes away from her in a slight fit of frustration. This angered and saddened Aerwyn all the same time, because she did not want to see him mad at her, and she did not want him to misunderstand her intention. She simply let the emotion go and allowed herself to proceed.

"That was a bit of a scary-wary thing, Mister Gavain!" Lumomo shouted as she jumped around a bit.

"I know. Let's hope we don't encounter way too many more Quad's along the way. I don't want anything else to happen that we can't control. I know I said we'd break here, but I think we should go a little further away from this encampment and the dead Quadav's body. If any other one of them sees us, they'll trail us and send packs to kill us. We should head for the Lighthouse."

The party simply nodded. Sern grabbed his knife from the Quad's body, and took the sword from his hand and placed it on his own belt buckle.

"This should be a few Gil," he laughed.

"Thieves…" Parragoh menaced.

"What? What's wrong with making a few extra bucks?"

"It is dishonorable."

"And what's honorable about slicing someone's head off with an axe, huh ya big galoot?"

"Do not tempt me to try the same thing to you, filthy Hume!"

"That's enough!" Gav shouted. "Let's go, and let's go in peace, please."

The party was tired. They had just had their entire day shaken up by slaying a Quad, almost having Parragoh killed, and having Gav injured. Their determination now was to get to another encampment not far from Morhen. There they would rest and drink some water and get a few foodstuffs out so that they could eat. Aerwyn looked upon all the arguing and sentiments of the party and felt that she was wrong now for calling Gav out on something trivial, but that she would not say another word of it. At this point, they would just walk on and stay silent. After all, they still had the rest of the midday and night to deal with before they got to the Lighthouse or the Fumaroles.

The Lighthouse unearthed nothing for the travelers. Now they stopped and drank some of Lumomo's distilled water, and Parragoh started afire in the camp area. He began to cook some Galkan sausages, and as they slowly crisped and sizzled in the fire, the aroma rose around it and snuck its way around everyone's nostrils. Gav and Sern loved the smell, and slowly began to salivate. Lillian brought her own meal and ate in peace. The only one who seemed to be left out of any eating was Aerwyn.

"Excuse me, Lumomo," asked the Elvaan.

"Yes, Miss Aerwyn?" the Taru replied.

"You wouldn't happen to have any cabbage or any vegetables would you? I don't tend to eat meat," she said, in a quiet dry way as to not offend anyone or garner a reaction.

"Yes I do!" she said. Lumomo arose and waddled near her sack, and pulled out a head of La Theine cabbage. She brought out a small dish, poured some distilled water into it, and boiled the water near the fire. She added small pieces of the cabbage one at a time, and Aerwyn mightily enjoyed this. The taru had plenty of seasonings for her to take advantage of, which she did.

"Thank you so much!" Aerwyn exclaimed happily.

"Welcome-welcome!" Lumomo smiled.

They all ate silently and saw the sun hide under the clouds for a few minutes, beginning to fade underneath the evening sky. Gav sat, resting his body against a smooth boulder. He looked into the sky and wondered about this and many things on his mind. How the warehouse was shut down, how Mack was doing, this whole party. He did not know why it all seemed so strange to him that this was occurring, much less why it was happening at all. It was almost as if this was in someone else's plan. But it was a plan that he was unaware of, and uncertainty of the future always makes him nervous. The sun broke the clouds in two, and most of the party were again talking and laughing about things that were going on. Aerwyn took this time to meditate on the events of the day, and to look Gavain over once again. She saw that he was in deep thought, and she rose to sit beside him.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Howdy," Gav uttered.

"I am…" Aerwyn started.

"Don't worry about it. I was wrong to be prideful. Nothing to be sorry about," Gav said with a smile.

Aerwyn was confounded at this, yet happy. She wanted to say her words, but if he knew what the context of most of the words were, then why even say them? A smile crept across her face at the knowledge that Gavain might just have some reasonable thought in his head. She leaned back on the boulder next to him and continued to look at his body, specifically his side where he had been injured. Her left hand grazed over it, and rubbed it gently to see if there was any sign of wounding. She looked up at him and withdrew her hand after seeing him smile.

"I'm still mad at you," Aerwyn said.

"Well, if you must be I cannot stop you," he replied.

He looked into her eyes now, and she could not stop looking back. His smile was even more apparent now and she felt as if she could lose her entire world inside of the eyes glowing before her. This melting sensation urged her whole body closer to his own, and all at once she began to release what was once a rational control of herself. Then Gav broke the stare quietly and got up to stretch his arms. Aerwyn still was entranced for a moment, but then allowed herself to snap out of it and clear her throat promptly.

"Are we to set camp here for the night?" she asked Gav in a short manner.

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a darn good plan to me," he answered.

Everyone set up their tents and began to wind down on their inventories, dropping and sorting through all the things they collected and brought with them through their travels. Gavain finally finished setting up his tent and looked across to the rest of the parties tents. Aerwyn entered her tent after everyone else went inside theirs, stared at Gav and decided to crack a sort of smile his way.

"Goodnight, Gavain," she said wearily.

"'Night, Aerwyn," he replied as he waved gently, smiling back.

She felt comforted at his smile and closed her tent folds. Gav stayed outside of his tent and counted the stars, allowing his own thoughts to wander and his eyes to gaze over the landscape as the night brightly emerged with a full glowing moon to settle on Gustaberg. The Lighthouse's light dimmed out, and the open deserted wilderness became untiringly quiet. A quiet breeze blew over his shoulders and hair, and Gav simply let his eyes close after a few minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 4

The rustling sound startled everyone, but none could find enough sense to awaken. Gav jumped up to figure out what the sound was and where it was coming from. He saw that a large black wolf had managed to rumble through some of their belongings and drag out their food. The wolf was salivating and gnawing on a large piece of sausage, and Gav was very angered at this. He got up and attempted to shoo the wolf away, but to no avail.

He went inside his tent and grabbed his cuffs. As he exited, he looked at the wolf and raised his fist as if he were going to hit it. The closer he came, the more he saw that the wolf's body was depreciated and very thin. This frail canine's fur was small and his figure was gaunt, and he looked as though he had not eaten in several days time or more. Gav bent over and saw that it did not want to drop the piece of meat it had, but that it would not put up a fight. As Gav bent, the wolf dropped the sausage on the ground and kneeled down, lowering his eyes to the ground. Gav was astounded at this behavior in the animal.

What he surmised was that the wolf was hungry, smelled food, and snuck it out to eat it because it was so malnourished. Instead of punishing it for this, he squatted down in front of the wolf. It shied, but did not whimper. He reached his hand out, and at this the small wolf did whimper. Gav steadied his hand and his senses.

"I'm not gonna hit you," he whispered.

The cub stopped moving and let Gav touch him. Gav's hand scratched lightly and petted at the forehead of the cub, and as Gav did this the wolf's eyes narrowed and his mouth extended as if in a grin from ear to ear. Gav could tell that the wolf enjoyed this, and as he was petting him, he patted on his back a few times and motioned for it to get up and come forward. He broke off a piece of the sausage and held it in his hand. The wolf sat straight up, head narrowed and focused on Gav's eyes. After seeing the obedience that he desired, Gav allowed the meat to drop into the wolf's mouth. It toyed with it for a minute as it gnawed, and Gav simply watched. He picked the food bag up and secured it back in his own tent, then came back out to the campsite with a few small pieces of the sausage.

Gav brought two flint stones out of his pocket and struck them together on the dry timber circled by stone in their encampment, and the fire slowly restarted itself. The wolf lay by the fire, and Gav kept feeding it small pieces at a time until it fell asleep before the dancing flames. Gav watched the wolf and the fire, and wondered about all of the things he experienced today. The pain in his side rekindled slightly as weariness, and he held it as to apply pressure to ease the cramping. A small noise once again emanated from behind him, and he was unsure of what it was. There Aerwyn sat looking on him and the campsite.

"Hey," he said with a slight cringe in his voice from his cramp.

"Hi", she whispered back.

"How long have you been up?"

"Since the wolf took the sausage I left out," she smiled.

"Oh… I was wondering how he got a hold of the bag, and that explains it," he smiled back.

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just… well… impressed."

"By what?"

"You actually fed and took care of the cub. It is quite an experience to watch you taking care of something," she said as her eyes transfixed on Gav.

"Heh, I guess. It's nothing I wouldn't normally do."

"I know. I like watching you as you normally are. You're a very interesting person."

"Glad someone seems to think so… you're quite interesting yourself, Aerwyn."

"Wow."

"Huh?" Gav questioned.

"That's the first time you've ever called me by my name."

"Oh; I'm sorry I never thought to speak it before this moment," Gav apologized.

"Don't worry. I'm not upset."

Gav and Aerwyn smiled at one another and looked up. She emerged completely from her tent in her nightclothes, and walked up to Gav at the campfire. As she was about to sit down, he motioned to her to stop. She did so, but looked strangely at him. He took his over shirt off and laid it on the ground, and then motioned for her to sit on its spread. She bent over slightly, allowing herself to sit down on her behind and get comfortable inside the jerkin he laid down.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It's nothing," he replied.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Act as though nothing you do matters."

"Oh… it's just… thing I have. It's not like a complex; I just guess that I know it's supposed to be the right thing to do. Where I was raised, it was proper to do things this way."

"Where I was raised, it was a courtesy never offered."

"Then you should allow yourself to be re-raised," he said with a smile.

She looked upon him in total amazement, unknowing of his intention by his words and unable to determine what the proper response was. She didn't know if he was asking her to change herself, or to just allow herself to be changed. She read his face and expressions, dug into the way he said what he said, and determined that it was nothing more than a well-meant comment after seeing him beam with happiness at his own suggestion.

"Perhaps I should. Or perhaps you should."

"Nah, I like treating people well," he responded.

"What is it you're trying to say, that I do not?"

"No… you're reading into what I'm saying too much. I just spoke for myself. I don't know you as well to say what you should or shouldn't feel, all I can do is speak my mind when it happens to project a thought out of my mouth."

"Hmm… at least you say what you mean when you say it."

"Yet another of the qualities I was raised with."

"You seem to have been raised with lots of good qualities."

"Funny we should even talk about this, because to be honest with you Aerwyn, I was not raised at all."

"What do you mean?"

He narrated a story to her about how he was born in Bastok under the care of several different politicians, and in his younger years he was taught by Cid the engineer himself. His life went from one extreme to the next as a child, and he was quickly introduced to lots of the foreign customs and races, even beastmen. He watched Orcish and Elvaan battlefields at age nine, and ran from Quadavs at age thirteen. The only beastman he had not yet seen was a Yagudo, and he hoped to never see one because he believed it was the only beastman race that was predominately evil and spawned of pure hate. He stopped for a moment.

"What is wrong, Gavain?" Aerwyn asked.

"I dreamed of a Yagudo once… it was a very terrible dream. I dreamed that one had plucked off my limbs one at a time and gnawed on them as though it were a kabob of some type. They then put a band over my eyes and began to torment me. I never understood the meaning of this, especially since I've never even seen one to know what they look like."

"I have seen plenty of Yagudo tribes; we traded with a Yagudo Priest once, some of the Windurstians are on peaceful armistice terms with them and enjoy free trade with one another."

"Does it look like an enormous walking black raven?"

"Yes, actually that is what it looks like."

Gav's skin went a pale white color. He stared off into a thousand yard space for answers about why he would have such a premonition.

"Don't worry about it," Aerwyn said, and she placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He turned to her and smiled at her with his mouth wide and agape. He did not know what to think of her gesture, but returned it by leaning his head on her shoulder. Aerwyn blushed mightily at this, yet stayed calm.

"Aerwyn…" he whispered to her.

"Yes, Gav?"

"Why did you want to reintroduce yourself to me?"

This put her in a calm silence once again. He picked his head up and looked right into her eyes. She began to melt inside, but on the exterior she held her head and eyes high as to not be read by him.

"That is simple. I just want to know who I'm living beside, that's all."

"So you give letters like that to everyone?" he inquired slowly.

"No!" she said sternly. "I just… I don't know."

"Don't worry about it," Gav said. He placed his hand on her shoulder this time and stared into her eyes awaiting her reaction to what he did. She blushed even more, and leaned in towards him. At this point both their noses were no more than an inch away from one another, and they could both feel their breath inside of their mouths.

"Why not?" she breathed out to him. She closed her eyes and waited. Gav cleared his throat and bent back slowly away from her as to get up and stretch, but before he could move one more inch away from her nose she launched her face onto his. He gazed at her for just a brief moment, and then felt that her lips were pressing against his own. She was grasping for his own lips with hers, and he finally succumbed to her and let her take his lips. He also motioned for hers, and opened his mouth a little wider as to let his tongue fold inside of her mouth and rasp for her own tongue. The kiss was slow, yet passionate. They both held each other's faces as they kept kissing, and they breathed air into one another's mouth, swiveling their heads together as the kiss continued.

After a few more moments of this, they both exited one another's grasp and simply looked. Not a word was said between either of them, they just looked at each other and marveled at what had occurred. Both thought to each other about what to say and how much they had to say to one another, but instead they just let the moment go with a silent acquiescence of breath and a lost gaze inside of each other's eyes. The chill of the night blew over both their bodies, and they noticed by the smoke that the fire had died and the wolf cub was still content and asleep. Gav thought he should go back inside of his tent, and began to find words again after the long stare.

"I'm going to go inside of my tent now, Aerwyn. You should go into yours, because it is getting colder out here." Gav got up slowly, and turned around to go into his tent. Before he did, he felt Aerwyn's hand reach onto his. She looked up at him as though asking for help. He bent down and crossed his arms into a fashion of the letter x, and as he held out both his hands, Aerwyn reached for his. She held on tight, and he hoisted her from the ground.

"I want to stay with you in your tent," she said. She leaned her head on his chest and breathed slowly. He could feel her chest pressed up against his, and he could barely feel her pulse.

"I don't want to be alone and this cold," she pleaded. Gav looked on her with a smile and led her inside of his tent. He spread out his blanket inside the tent and pointed for her to lie down on it. He exited his tent partially after this.

"Where are you going?" she slightly cried.

"To get my jacket from the ground so we can have some extra cover," he said with a smile. "I'll be right back."

"Alright," she said in a higher pitch than normal. He walked out and grabbed at his jacket, then went back inside his tent where Aerwyn was. He pulled the jacket into a bundle the size of his head, and told Aerwyn to lift her head. He held his hand under her head and placed the jacket underneath it. She laid her head back onto it and felt comfortable on it. After this, he smiled at her and curled up in a corner of the tent slowly.

"What are you doing?" Aerwyn asked.

"Sleepin'," he replied slowly.

"But aren't you gonna sleep next to me?" she said. She held her hand out and motioned for him to come closer. She opened up the blanket slightly and invited him inside. He hesitated, but entered in it with her. She wrapped her arms around him slightly and let her head rest on his own. He did not understand how this chemistry was so potent and so possible all at once, and did not understand why he felt so warm when he was with her. Why he felt so good whenever she was around. Why they were able to kiss one another with so much passion and have not shared any type of life with one another except on this ugly Gustaberg field. He thought of the word love, and thought of it's meaning, then dismissed it. He believed he was ineligible for that type of emotion for some reason that he held against himself. Yet he allowed himself not to fix those thoughts in his mind at this time, and just stay with Aerwyn and keep her company and keep her warm, as she'd ask him to do.

"Thank you," she said shyly.

"For what?" he said back.

"For staying with me. It helps me sleep."

Gav smiled back at her and let himself look at the moment for what it was worth. He did not know what had truly happened or why, but he just knew that he was in his tent with a woman whom no more than twenty four hours ago he was very shy towards. This woman who intimidated his libido so bad and challenged his ego was laying with him in his own tent on her own free will, and she asked him to be with her. He felt privileged. As she held him, she turned forward and kissed his forehead gently. She turned her body around, and her backside was against Gav's groin. She pushed herself into him as an attempt to get warm, but another reaction emerged from Gav. He attempted his best to control it, and shied backwards as it happened. The whole time, Aerwyn was smiling to herself as she knew exactly what was going on, but she didn't budge one time. She wanted to see what he would do.

He stayed where he was, and merely allowed Aerwyn to stay warm and fall asleep inside of his blanket. He lay there looking at her most of the night. Once she started breathing heavier and tossing, he wrapped the whole of the blanket around her body and moved to the corner of his tent. He did not allow himself to sleep until he saw a glimpse of a lighter blue hue outside, which meant the sun was appearing. He let his eyes close and began to finally sleep.

When Gav awoke, the sun was brightly shining in through the tent, and all he could see was the brown of his tent mixed with the white of the sun's light. He rustled around and leaned over to his other side to see if Aerwyn was there, and he saw that she indeed was not. He reached through the blanket to see that her body was not present, and he arose slightly to go outside of his tent. Aerwyn sat outside, with her things packed and ready and on her shoulder. She smiled lightly at Gavain, and he simply looked back.

"Good morning, Gavain!" she said.

"Good morning to you too. How long've you been up?" he replied to her.

"Not too long. Some of the others thought we should get going, and so they've already begun to traverse, and are awaiting us up ahead of the trail," she said as she pointed with her hand uphill.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Cuz you were sleeping so soundly," she smiled to him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his arms and gave out a smile to Aerwyn. He figured any other questions he had would take up too much time to answer, and that they'd have time to talk on the way. He gathered up all his things, strung them into a bundle and carried them on his back. He walked up to Aerwyn and held out his hand at her. At this, she looked upon Gavain in a questioning manner.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Your bag, let me carry it for you."

She smiled widely and blushed a slight bit at this display. But she knew his bag was heavy, and she strapped her own on herself and looked up at Gav with a focus.

"Your bag is heavy… and my bag isn't light by any means. I think we should both carry our own and simply carry it together."

"Carry it together? But that doesn't make any sense."

"If you walk with your load, and I walk with mine, then it's nothing we're not already used to, and we're both still carrying ourselves. But if we walk together while we're carrying our loads and just be with one another, we won't have to worry about the loads on our backs because we'll be moving for our destination together, and the loads will lighten on us because we'll have each other to carry our minds, in turn making our arms seem less important."

Gav said nothing at this, just looked at Aerwyn with a full smile on his face. He hoisted up his bag at his side and turned to the steep grade of the hill, facing the blazing early day sun. Aerwyn stood beside him, and they began a slow pace upwards together. The rest of the party remained just a few hundred feet ahead and were all talking amongst one another. Lumomo looked behind herself at the pair of Gav and Aerwyn, and told everyone to stop and wait. Gav and Aerwyn walked up towards the party side by side. Aerwyn went in towards the rest of the members and greeted them, and Gav stood before them as they greeted him also.

"Good morning to you all as well," Gav said. "Well, I think we should head up towards Drachenfall on the bridge there. We can stop by the outpost on the way and ask someone about this Hunting Bear fellow and see what they know. Is everyone well rested and ready?"

They all said yes in unison. Gav stood at the front of the line of them and led them eastward. They were all quite silent as they began their pace, all determined now on reaching the goal that they had set out to accomplish. Gav was feeling warm now, but the sun today was not brutal like it had been the days before. Clouds overturned most of the blue sky, and wind was blowing steadily over everyone's shoulders. As they walked on into the wind the party began to feel lighthearted about their simple quest, and all began to converse with one another on various topics. One topic Gav listened to was a conversation between all five about the Airship Travel Agency.

"I've traveled many an airship, and never had one complaintaru!" Lumomo said.

"What was it like? I bet it must've been kinda frightening or at least a bit amazing the first time around," Sern inquired.

"Hmm… I am also interested in this. I doubt they would let simple Galka ride airships however," Parragoh loomed.

"That's no way to think. Of course any race can ride an airship; it's all run by every race there is, Parragoh," Lillian explained.

"I'm sorry… I tend to be a negative thinker when it comes to anything outside of home."

"Don't worry, sir. Just remember that curiosity is the best defense to ignorance, not anger," Aerwyn noted. "My airship travels have been quite limited, but for the most part they have been pleasant. My father and I took travels to Jeuno a few times, but mostly just on business. Father normally wouldn't let me leave the airship to go anywhere, because he was afraid I would be confused for a member of the royal family."

"What royal family do you speak of, Miss Aerwyn?" Lillian asked.

"In San d'Oria, there is a family of Elvaan who are considered royalty. Most of them reside in the Chateau d'Oraguille, but some of them are still spread out to even higher positions of power in Jeuno. Jeuno is popular for its neutrality, but every nation competes there in Ballista, and it is the converge point for everything that focally happens in Vana'diel. In order for anyone to get anything everywhere, it has to go through Jeuno first. Whether it be packages, armor, crystals, or even the mighty chocobo, it all stems from something that originated in the heart of Jeuno."

"Isn't that where Cid trained to be an engineer, Gav?" Sern asked.

"I'm not too sure, but I think so…" Gav answered.

"So you've been to Jeuno as well, Gavain?" Aerwyn inquired.

"I can't remember right now, but I'm almost sure that I have." Gav looked out and saw that they were upon the valley where they would need to pass through to get to Drachenfall. "We're in North Gustaberg now you guys. The outpost should be just ahead a few thousand feet."

They all walked through the valley together and saw that it was all quite deserted. The outpost also looked to be deserted from what they could see. Their pace quickened slightly and the outpost grew closer and closer to them. As they met at the front, a lone soldier sat against a post sharpening a blade.

"What can I help you strangers with?" he said, still focused on the blade.

"My name is Gavain, I am the leader of this group. We are looking for a Galka named Hunting Bear as a part of our journey."

"Go on Drachenfall's bridge, and he should be no more than a few feet from sight. Be mindful of lizards, they're starting to get a little more tense out here lately."

"Thank you sir!" Gav replied.

"You're welcome," he said as he waved them off. His tone was dismissive, but at least he was helpful. The group headed for the bridge and as they did, they heard the man once more say something. "Wait! That Elvaan female in your group… is her name Aerwyn?" he asked.

"Yes, I am Aerwyn," she stepped forward and said.

"Your father has informed our military that you are to be home at once to prepare for departure to Windurst. We hope you've enjoyed your stay here, and pray your father has as well, Lady Aerwyn."

"Thank you, but why so formal?"

"Ma'am, your father saved my life many years ago. I have no reason to be anything less than such for his daughter."

"Thank you kindly sir." Aerwyn bowed, and the man bowed back. He waved them off, and they departed for the bridge once more. As they closed in on the bridge, a large armored Galka stood in its center overlooking the falls.

"You all finally made it. Good job! I'll take your field reports now." He extended his hand, and Gav looked around as though lost, because he didn't remember anything about a field report. All of a sudden he felt something tugging on his pant leg, and little Lumomo jumped up and down with a few pieces of paper in her hands. He looked down and smiled at this always-prepared Tarutaru and was glad that she was. He took the paper and handed it to the Galka, and he brought out a satchel into Gav's hand.

"3000 Gil for you to split among your team members. Job well done! Congratulations, you are now Bastok and Gustaberg veterans!" the Galka said.

Gav split the monies each way they were meant to go, and everyone acquired 500 Gil. They all exclaimed at this, and stayed on the bridge to look at the falls for a moment as the sun began to fall behind a cloud.

"A chocobo courier is on his way now with one for your departure Aerwyn, as I'm sure you're aware of," Hunting Bear said.

"Yes. I am aware, but sir, may I inquire something of you?" she asked the Galka.

"What is it?"

"My friend, the man who led us in our party for this mission, can he be arranged to travel with me? I am in need of his assistance until we reach the airship docks. My father asked me to bring him along at the last minute," she said. Gav looked a little strangely to Aerwyn, who kept a straight face as she told the Galka this.

"That is fine, my lady. We will have it arranged once the escorts arrive momentarily for your friend… I'm sorry what is your name sir?"

"Gavain!"

"Right… Gavain to ride with you."

"Thank you so much sir!" Aerwyn exclaimed.

"Thank you sir," Gav added.

Both Aerwyn and Gav walked off the bridge, and the rest of the party awaited them at the bridge's end. They all faced one another and said their goodbyes.

"We'll meet again right Lillian?" Sern asked.

"I am more than certain," Lillian smiled. She walked up to Sern and hugged him gently. "Goodbye, Lumomo. Good luck Parragoh! Miss Aerwyn it was so nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice to make your acquaintance as well, Lillian. Perhaps in the future we shall party again!" Aerwyn added.

"I hope so. Mister Gavain, it was very nice partying with someone who knew this place as well as you."

"No problem," he said simply.

Lillian looked at him for a brief moment, and he smiled back and waved. She turned and walked for the Port Bastok gate. Lumomo and Parragoh waved and smiled at everyone as they walked behind Lillian. Sern patted Gav on the back and headed for the gate as well.

"I'll see you later this week, man!"

"Alright Sern, take care of yourself," Gav replied.

The chocobo escort arrived shortly after Sern left, and Aerwyn hopped on the chocobo and instructed the escort that Gav was to ride with them on the chocobo. He mounted the same chocobo Aerwyn was riding. He had never rode a chocobo before, and this strange large bird was very sturdy it seemed. As he mounted it, he heard it make a strange noise similar to the sound of "kweh" and it looked behind and blinked its eyes in approval of both Aerwyn and Gav. Aerwyn looked back at Gav and smiled, and just as he was smiling back she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and held her waist gently, and they headed towards Bastok.


End file.
